iPhone case rehabilitation

[Richard Cabrera’s] iPhone was scratched from years of use. A big part of the appeal of Apple products is the dose of sexy that comes with them, so he set out to remedy this abomination. His iPhone case rehabilitation guide walks you through the miraculous transformation. One of the tools he uses is a headlight lens restoration kit from 3M because its polishing pads include graduated levels of grit for the transition from rough sanding to buffing. As you can see, the logo and text have been buffed off but that’s a small price to pay for what looks like a shiny new device.

lol I have done this many times with the grinding and polishing wheels in my school lab. (they are supposed to be for polishing SEM samples) We’ve done it to a class ring with a scratched stone, scratched watch bands and watch faces, and other stuff.

Yeah done the same thing using G3 car cutting compound then various polishes. But once you’ve polished passed the logo the case gets very soft, and scratches easily. Apple must have used a more durable top layer.

So how many hours did that take? Depending on your billable rate – I’m guessing he wasted way more time then it was worth (especially since he ended up with a phone that will scratch even more easily the second time around).

@Bobby
Put one layer of electrical tape on the pad under the battery cover. Works just as good, and doesn’t look as bad. Also, the tape will start leaking the glue all over and you’ll get fuzz stuck to it. Makes a mess.

no one is wondering because the explanation is in the last sentence of the review

Tho I am more surprised by peoples reaction, first thing I though was “oh someone took a I phone to a buffing wheel” I was expecting the usual “but that is not a hack” rampage that usually happens when someone does a no-brainer

whatever, It did the job, looks good and if it does end up being softer you can always put a coat of lacquer on it or something

I know what you mean acceptable risk. The first time I upgraded my phone, I nicked the back a little with a knife so it felt a little more like something I use and not a shiny new toy. Looking back it wasn’t the best idea I ever had but it just felt better that way somehow.

What works better for me these days is prevention. I remember being right pissed when I put a nice cell phone in my new jeans pocket and it came out scratched to hell (looked like the “before” in the picture.) I’ve also ruined the finish on several Swiss army knives.

“Stonewashed” literally means they tumbled your jeans with little abrasive rocks, and they leave nasty grit in your clothes. We use the exact same abrasive stones for deburring and polishing parts in a machine shop.

So now whenever I buy new jeans I turn the pockets inside out and run them through the washing machine for a cycle or two before wearing them. No problems since.

@Bobby ~ hey man there is a really easy fix for this. all you need to do is take a razor blade ann/or small eyeglass screw driver (flathead) and pry up the small metal piece on the actual phone so it catches the latch on the cover better. takes no time at all, and works perfect.

We where polishing plastic in High School shop 35 years ago. Not that hurts we on the backside of 50 to see posts that introduces newcomers to old techniques applied to modern products. I have had a simple polishing setup in my shop for severals year now, though I polish mostly metal.
@jim; Any new top coat sprayed on will reflect the surface it applied to, if you want a smooth top coat you apply it to a smooth surface.

@vonskipp; Billable rate? This is all a hobby. Who would gig the old gals in a quilting club about a billable rare? Anyway it WAS a lot of effort and expense to polish an apple.

Is it really that hard to get some plain white toothpaste for rough buffing and then Nu Finish to polish? That’s what I’ve used for decades for everything from portable game system screens to CDs and DVDs.